Edinburgh-based writer reveals how her intuition led archaeologists to remains of King Richard III

Scientists at the University of Leicester, have confirmed that the remains s car are that of King Richard III (Image: University of Leicester/PA)

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A WRITER told yesterday how her intuition led archaeologists to the lost remains of King Richard III.

Edinburgh-based Philippa Langley was researching a play on the king, known as Crookback because of his deformed spine, when she had a hunch she was standing on his grave.

She funded a dig of the site – a council car park in Leicester.

And DNA results have now confirmed a body found there was that of the 32-year-old king, who was killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.

It matches the genetic make-up of two living descendants of Richard.

The skeleton also has a curved spine, confirming contemporary accounts.

Philippa, who is secretary of the Scottish branch of the Richard III Society, recalled the visit which prompted the dig yesterday, saying: “It was a hot summer and I had goosebumps so badly and I was freezing cold.

“I walked past a particular spot and absolutely knew I was walking on his grave.

“I am a rational human being but the feeling I got was the same feeling I have had before when a truth is given to me.”

Examination of the remains revealed the skull wounds which killed the king, along with a metal arrowhead in his back.

Scientists even found evidence he was stabbed through the right buttock after his death.

The car park was once the site of a church called Grey Friars, which ancient records said was the site of Richard’s burial.

The 5ft 8ins skeleton was discovered in September, on the first day of a three-week dig. It was found just three feet below the ground.

DNA from the remains was found to match Michael Ibsen, a descendant of Richard III’s family.

The Canadian-born furniture maker, who now lives in London, is a direct descendant of the king’s sister, Anne of York.

A DNA match was also discovered between the remains and a second living descendant, who wished to remain anonymous.

Lead archaeologist Richard Buckley said the tests proved the remains were the king’s “beyond reasonable doubt”.

He said: “It is the academic conclusion that the individual exhumed is indeed Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England.

“It has been an honour and privilege for all of us to be at the centre of a project that has had such phenomenal global interest.”

Buckley also revealed Richard III’s remains were almost lost when a 19th-century toilet was built above his resting place.

Luckily, the grave was only slightly disturbed by the building’s foundations, which missed the skeleton by a few inches.

Buckley said: “The remains were very vulnerable.

“A 19th-century brick outhouse came very close to destroying the grave altogether. The feet were missing, almost certainly as a result of later disturbances.”

Dr Jo Appleby, from the University of Leicester, said: “The skeletal evidence provides a highly convincing case for identification as Richard III.